Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25727 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-09-30
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 180 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads was actually a revival, in 1973, of the successful Dick Clements/Ian La Frenais 1960s comedy The Likely Lads, so notable for its fibrous but sympathetic treatment of life for two young men coming of age in North East England. This "Very Best of" collection brings together classic episodes from the 1973 series. Although tinged with nostalgia--the décor and styles of the early 1970s are almost pungently evocative--the quality of the writing defies the passage of time.

Seven years on from their initial adventures, Rodney Bewes (upwardly mobile, self-improving Bob) and James Bolam (feckless, chippy Terry) meet by accident on the train. Bob is about to marry Thelma and move into modern semi-detached heaven, while Terry is just out of the army and drifting back home without a great deal of purpose. The relationship between the two men, basically sound but frequently compromised by their very different aspirations, is very cleverly drawn and played so that your sympathies never stay on one side for very long. Best of all, Brigit Forsyth's Thelma, a dragon in the making, adds an astringent dynamic. She is, says Terry, "so stuck up she thinks her backside's a perfume factory". The insecurity he generates in her is responsible for much of the comedy.

On the DVD: The Very Best of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads comes to disc with no extras, simply standard 4:3 picture format video production and episode selection. But it's still fresh as a daisy all the same. --Piers Ford

Special Features
English
Region 0

Synopsis
The two lads from the much-loved 1960s television programme are back in this follow-up to their first series. By this time, Terry (James Bolam) and Bob (Rodney Bewes) have grown up...right

Customer Reviews

Timeless comedy
"Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads" was a follow on from the 60's series "The Likely Lads" which followed the comic misfortunes of Terry and Bob, played to perfection by James Bolam and Rodney Bewes. Much of the humour of this series centres around the different paths the two have taken: Terry enlisted in the army and has returned after 5 years unemployed and with no prospects while Bob has done well for himself, has his own business and is about to get married to Thelma. Thelma (a fine perforance from Brigit Forsyth) fears that Terry will lead Bob astray and put doubts into his head about the wedding. The dynamic between the 3 of them makes for great comedy which has lost none of its force despite the great culture gap between Britain today and Britain in the early 70's.

If you have never seen it before, this "Best of" is a good introduction although it only covers the first of the 2 series. It is amazing to me that the whole series has never been brought out in its entirety; it is one of the funniest and often one of the most poignant comedies I have ever seen and I watch it again and again.

Our friends in the North
During the 1970s the BBC were prolific in turning out classic comedy after classic comedy. Right up there with the best is 'Whatever happened to the likely lads?' Like many of the best comedies there is much more than purely humour envolved and this is very much the case here as the series charts the enduring, if strained friendship of working class lads Terry Collier (James Bolam)and Bob Ferris (Rodney Bewes).
This series begins with Bob and Terry being re-united after some years, Terry returning home having been de-mobbed from the army and meeting up with Bob who has stayed in his home town and become, to Terrys annoyance, a car owner, a house owner and engaged to Thelma (Bridget Forsythe).
Much of the humour develops from the opposing attitudes of the two men. Terry the cynical semi-frees spirit who refuses to move with the times and Bob the quietly ambitious upwardly mobile husband-to-be.
From the lyrics of the theme tune at the start (What happened to you, whatever happened to me) we are reminded of the passing of time and how people can change, so much so that when we look back, sometimes we dont even recognise ourselves. This is intelligent comedy which does much more than just make you laugh. It is extremely funny but has much more in its armoury besides laughs. It is a social commentary of its time and a touching portrait of two men growing apart whilst remaining bonded by their past.
If you havent seen it before it is an absolute must. Magic.

Must-see 70's BBC comedy
Throughout the 70's, BBC was prolific in it's production of comedies. From 'Last of the summer wine' to 'Are you being served?' it was a laugh-a-minute. Amongst that was 'Whatever'.

Following on from the earlier 'The Likely Lads', Clement and La Frenais proceeded to write another 27 episodes and a feature film. Long before 'Men behaving badly' had been dreamt up, us Geordies had Bob and Terry, 2 school mates, all the way back to Mrs Hindmarch's 4B class at Park Juniors. The years had been kind on Bob...he'd fallen in love with Thelma Chambers (Bridgit Forsyth)...whilst Terry had been in the army and had returned home a broken man with a leg injury and estranged from his German wife.

The capers resume when Bob and Terry meet by chance on a train. All rather lame stuff by today's standards, but still extremely comical. The tale then moves through the difficulties of Terry's integration into 1970's Newcastle after a few years away, and Bob's impending marriage to the toffee-nosed Thelma, whose father Bob is employed by (played by Bill Owen, or Compo from 'Last of the summer wine'). Lots of scrapes ensue, and Terry manages to cause chaos whilst always remaining a likeable character. Bob's impending marriage is the axis round which the episodes rotate, all with perfect comic timing.

The episodes are ended by a pause of a couple of years and then a feature film (available on a separate DVD) was produced in 1976 which marked the end of the series. James Bolam has always refused to take part in a reunion, which is a crying shame as the comedy value of a few episodes 30 years on would be amazing with such strong writers.

This was pretty risque for it's time, so thanks to Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais for opening the floodgates for our current raft of fantastic comedies!